Buffer, the Hydrogen Slayer

Increase your buffering capacity to boost endurance

More than 80 years ago, Nobel Prize-winning British mathematician and physiologist A. V. Hill noticed that hydrogen ions (protons) accumulate inside muscle cells during strenuous activity. Aware that such pile-ups might impair performance and even damage muscle fibers, Hill speculated that muscle cells must possess buffers (chemicals which could "soak up" excess protons) — and that these buffers might play an important role in determining exercise capacity. Very recent research has shown that Hill was absolutely correct.

Indeed, it is clear that your muscle cells maintain "buffer systems" (combinations of proton-skimming chemicals, including inorganic phosphate, various proteins, and an important compound called carnosine) which protect your muscles from hydrogen hurting. Research has linked upgrades in buffer capacity with improvements in performance in exertions lasting less than one hour.

Fortunately, your buffering ability is not etched in stone: It can respond to the workouts you conduct. Classic research conducted by the renowned Dave Costill and his crew at Ball State University revealed that buffer capacity could soar by as much as 37 percent after just eight weeks of training.

Recently, researchers at the School of Human Movement and Exercise Science at the University of Western Australia conducted experiments to find out what kind of training is best for buffer burgeoning. Two groups of eight active females worked out for five weeks. Members of one group carried out high-intensity interval training three times a week, hitting two-minute intervals at 120 to 140 percent of their lactate threshold intensity. Athletes in the second group worked out at intensities which were just under their lactate thresholds, using continuous efforts rather than intervals. Total work performed and workout durations were almost identical for the groups.

After five weeks, buffer capacity soared by 25 percent in the intensely trained group but remained static in the continuously trained, sub-lactate-threshold athletes. This result is not overly surprising: If you skew your training toward running lots of miles at below-lactate-threshold speeds, there will be little hydrogen-ion accumulation in your muscles — and thus little stimulus for your sinews to improve their buffering. High-quality (above-lactate-threshold) training seems to be best for your buffers.

But exactly what kinds of high-quality work are optimal? You can carry out buffer-boosting sessions almost anywhere. Here are four options:

1) On the track, complete "super-sets" — combos of intervals with no break in between. For example, you might run 200 to 400 meters at close-to-all-out intensity, followed by — without recovering — 400 to 800 meters at about 5K pace (that’s one super-set). Start with just two to three of these per workout, adding more as your fitness increases.

2) Run reps on a fairly steep hill which takes about a minute to climb. Jog back down easily to recover, and climb right back up, using an intensity which feels like the closing rush of a 5K, while maintaining good form. After the third rep, your muscles will begin to pop with protons. Begin with four to five reps, and progress over time.